Chapter 137: Blackwind City

As the center of the entire Blackwind Sea region, Blackwind Island was extremely vast in territory; it might be more appropriate to call it the Blackwind Continent rather than an island.

Besides the main island of Blackwind Island, there were dozens of islands of various sizes scattered nearby.

Blackwind Island was dense with spirit veins, rich in heaven and earth spiritual energy, vast in land and abundant in resources, far surpassing the other islands, and it also had the only teleportation array connecting to the outside world.

Every day, countless cultivators and mortals, along with various cultivation resources and materials, converged here from all over the Blackwind Sea like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea. Likewise, countless heavenly treasures were exchanged here and then spread in all directions, making it unimaginably prosperous.

Some even claimed that half the essence of the entire Blackwind Sea was concentrated on Blackwind Island.

On the southern coast of the main Blackwind Island, a colossal city sat there, like a giant beast crouching on the ground. Its city walls alone were hundreds of zhang high, like mountain peaks.

Inside the city, majestic buildings rose one after another, row upon row. Wide and clean streets extended in all directions, densely packed with pedestrians and passersby.

In midair, buildings were also suspended, and streaks of light shuttled back and forth.

This city was Blackwind City, the largest city on Blackwind Island, and the great teleportation array connecting to the outside world was also located here.

As dawn was about to break, the entire Blackwind City had already become bustling.

Blackwind City was a coastal city, and outside the city there were numerous docks of all kinds, with ships of various sizes crossing the sea. Of course, the vast majority were mortal vessels.

On a stretch of coast more than ten li from Blackwind City, there was also a unique wide dock, several hundred zhang long and twenty to thirty zhang wide, made entirely of white jade, inscribed with countless runes, emitting a faint radiance.

The white jade dock stood high above the sea surface below, like a giant's arm stretched out horizontally.

At this moment, the dock was crowded with people, all craning their necks to look into the distance, as if waiting for something.

A seemingly seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy with slightly dark skin and an unremarkable appearance stood among the crowd.

Mu Xue took a light breath, and the salty, fishy smell peculiar to sea breeze immediately filled his nostrils, causing him to frown slightly.

Having grown up inland, even though he had been on Blackwind Island for two years, he still couldn't get used to the smell of the sea breeze.

“Hey, Xiao Mu, you’re here early today too,” a voice came over.

Mu Xue looked up and saw a tall, sturdy man walking over, with a full beard and a rough, fierce appearance.

"Brother Zhao is teasing me again. When have I ever arrived earlier than you?" Mu Xue said with a smile.

This man was named Zhao Hu. He looked somewhat intimidating, but in reality he had a good temper and was easygoing. Like Mu Xue, he was a rogue cultivator who had come to Blackwind City to make a living. The two had a good relationship.

Zhao Hu chuckled twice, and the two stood together chatting idly.

"Xiao Mu, how have your earnings been this month?" Zhao Hu asked in a low voice.

"Not good lately. I haven't gotten many jobs these past few days. What about you, Brother Zhao?" Mu Xue frowned and shook his head. His luck had been quite poor recently.

"I took on a big client yesterday and made a small profit." Zhao Hu looked somewhat smug, though not deliberately showing off.

"I need to work harder these next few days, hoping to gather enough spirit stones before the end of the year to buy a bottle of Infant-Transforming Water," Zhao Hu said with great ambition.

"Congratulations! With your spiritual root aptitude, Brother Zhao, aided by the Infant-Transforming Water, forming a Nascent Soul is practically guaranteed. Then you can join a hunting group to hunt demon beasts at sea, earning much faster than now!" Mu Xue's face showed envy.

He had only just condensed his Golden Core, still several major steps away from the Nascent Soul stage.

Hearing this, Zhao Hu's smile grew even wider. He patted Mu Xue on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Mu, you're still young. I'm only a few years older than you. By the time you reach my age, your achievements will only be greater."

At that moment, a muffled roar came from the distant horizon.

Mu Xue and Zhao Hu were startled, stopped talking, and looked up toward the sky.

In the azure sky, a few white clouds scattered at the sound of the roar.

A huge white shadow appeared on the distant horizon, moving extremely fast. In a few breaths, it drew near—it was an enormous white tower-ship, a giant vessel.

The giant ship was a thousand zhang long and nearly a hundred zhang high, like a mountain suspended in midair.

The building structures on it rose layer upon layer, a full twenty or thirty stories, each with countless small squares—windows of individual rooms.

As the giant ship approached, it quickly slowed down and soon came to a steady halt in midair.

Rumble!

The spirit patterns on the dock suddenly flared, emitting various colored spiritual lights that converged into a thick beam of light shooting up into the sky, making contact with the giant ship in midair.

Countless spirit patterns immediately emerged on the bottom of the giant ship, forming various arrays. The multicolored lights in the beam then poured into these spirit patterns one after another.

The beam of light was like a massive chain linking the dock on the ground with the giant ship in midair.

Guided by the beam of light, the white giant ship slowly descended and came to a gentle halt before the white jade dock.

This giant ship was called the Floating Cloud Boat, a name renowned throughout the Black Wind Sea.

Although the Black Wind Sea was merely a border region, a drop in the ocean compared to the entire True Immortal Realm, and even a remote corner of the Northern Cold Immortal Domain,

to the cultivators here, the area of the Black Wind Sea was terrifyingly vast.

Even a True Immortal would not know how long it would take to fly across the entire Black Wind Sea.

The major islands of the Black Wind Sea were widely scattered, and the sea was teeming with various demon beasts, fraught with danger. Except for those at the True Immortal level, other cultivators found it extremely inconvenient to travel between islands.

The largest trading company on Black Wind Island saw a business opportunity and spent a huge sum to build this Floating Cloud Boat, capable of carrying ten thousand people and traveling across the sea in all directions.

The Floating Cloud Boat was refined using special techniques, its speed far surpassing that of True Immortal-level beings.

Although the fare was quite expensive, this fast and safe means of travel was still highly favored by cultivators on the various islands.

Boom!

A large expanse of white light surged on the Floating Cloud Boat, then condensed into a long passageway that projected near the dock.

Figures of cultivators flew out from the passageway and landed on the dock.

Mu Xue and Zhao Hu smiled and immediately went forward to greet them.

"Esteemed senior, are you heading to Black Wind City? I have lived in the city for years and know every corner of it like the back of my hand. If you need to go somewhere or handle some business, I can certainly be of help," Mu Xue said enthusiastically to a black-robed man who had just landed.

Zhao Hu also approached another person, saying similar words.

The people around them were doing the same thing.

The black-robed man paid no attention to Mu Xue and flew straight toward the distant Black Wind City.

Mu Xue was not discouraged at all and immediately turned to the next person with a smile, but that person also ignored him and flew off.

The passengers on the cloud boat disembarked quickly, and soon more than half had come down.

But up to this point, no one had been willing to hire Mu Xue.

"Yes, yes, senior, rest assured, I will certainly handle this matter for you." Nearby, Zhao Hu had already secured a customer.

That person was a cultivator at the Unity stage. He waved his hand, sending out a blue light that wrapped around Zhao Hu's body and flew toward Black Wind City.

A hint of anxiety flickered in Mu Xue's eyes. Perhaps because he was too young and not steady enough, his business had always been poor.

Just then, a man in a green robe drifted down from the cloud boat. Instead of flying straight to Black Wind City, he looked around as if admiring the scenery.

"Senior, is this your first time in Black Wind City? To be honest, Black Wind City is enormous, with extremely complicated roads, and there are spirit-restraining禁制 inside. Without a guide, finding anything would be very troublesome. I was born and raised in Black Wind City and know every place inside out. I can certainly help you, senior." Mu Xue immediately approached him.

"A guide..." The green-robed man glanced at Mu Xue.

"Yes, yes. I have been in this business for four or five years. Senior only needs to pay five mid-grade spirit stones." Seeing that there was a chance, Mu Xue was overjoyed and even lowered his usual price a bit.

"Alright, it is indeed my first time in Black Wind City, and I need someone to show me the way." The green-robed man nodded, waved his hand, and sent out a green light that lifted both of them and flew toward Black Wind City.

"What is your name?" The green-robed man looked at Mu Xue, a strange expression seeming to flicker in his eyes, and asked.

"My name is Mu Xue," Mu Xue replied honestly and promptly.

"Mu Xue? Sounds like a girl's name," the green-robed man said with a faint smile.

"My mother gave me that name. Please don't laugh at me, senior." Mu Xue scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

"You said you were born and raised in Black Wind City. People who grow up by the sea are constantly blown by the sea breeze, which darkens their skin, but usually it's a dark color with a hint of ruddy brown, quite different from your complexion. Judging by your appearance, you probably grew up in the mountains," the green-robed man said with a half-smile.

Mu Xue's face stiffened, then he lowered his head and said, "Senior, your eyes are like torches. I did indeed grow up in the mountains. I just lied. I'm very sorry. For an outsider like me trying to make a living as a guide in Black Wind City, I had to make up some stories."

"It's fine, none of that matters. As long as you can guide me well." The green-robed man's eyes showed a trace of reminiscence, and he waved his hand.

This green-robed man was none other than Han Li. After spending about two months on the Floating Cloud Boat, he had finally arrived at Black Wind City.

Looking at the city before him, a hint of surprise flickered in his eyes.

What a vast city! Even his eyesight could not see its edge. The city was covered by a massive formation, which, as it operated, emitted extremely powerful spiritual energy fluctuations, clearly a very formidable formation.

The two soon arrived near Black Wind City. On the city wall, dozens of different gates, large and small, were opened.

"Senior, these gates are for different types of entrants. Local residents or cultivators generally don't need to pay a fee, while mortals or merchant caravans pay silver... For a first-time outsider cultivator like you, you should go through that gate over there." Mu Xue pointed to a gate on the left.